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Modal Verbs

Los verbos modales

Como verbos complementarios que son, los verbos modales no funcionan sin otro verbo. Este otro verbo siempre va después del verbo modal y está en la forma de base (el infinitivo sin “to”). No se conjugan los verbos modales y no tienen tiempo.

Should

“Should” indica una obligación o recomendación. Refleja una opinión sobre lo que es correcto. Se traduce como el condicional de “deber” en español.

Ejemplos:

I should call my parents more often. (Debería llamar a mis padres más a menudo.)

You shouldn’t work so hard. (No debería trabajar tan duro.)

They should practice more if they want to win the championship. (Deberían practicar más si quieren ganar el campeonato.)

Se utiliza “should” en frases interrogativas para preguntar si existe una obligación o para pedir una recomendación.

Ejemplos:

Should we leave a tip? (¿Deberíamos dejar una propina?)

Should I have the steak or the chicken? (¿Debería comer el bistec o el pollo?)

Where should they meet you? (¿Dónde deberían encontrarte?) Must “Must” indica una obligación, prohibición o necesidad. También puede emplearse“have to” (tener que). Ejemplos: You must [have to] read this book, it’s fantastic. (Tienes que leer este libro, es fantástico.) You must [have to] brush your teeth two times a day. (Tienes que cepillarte los dientes dos veces al día.) We must [have to] leave now or we will be late. (Tenemos que irnos ahora o llegaremos tarde.) You must not drink and drive. (No puedes beber y conducir.) When must we meet you? (¿Cuándo debemos quedar? ) Have to "Have to" es un semiauxiliar que se suele traducir por "tener que". La diferencia con "must" es que "must" se usa para dar órdenes o expresar una obligación moral interna de la persona que habla u ordena y "have to" indica que la obligación viene de normas externas, una tercera persona o de una circunstancia. I must go to work. Tengo que ir a trabajar. I have to do what my parents say. Tengo que hacer lo que mis padres dicen. Una de las características importantes que lo distinguen de los "auxiliares puros", como "must", es que necesita del auxiliar "do" para la negación y la interrogación. También se le añade -s a la tercera persona del singular. Click here to practice.

THE WHEEL WAS INVENTED

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

active		passive
The hunter killed the lion.	>>	The lion was killed by the hunter.
Someone has cleaned the windows	>>	The windows have been cleaned

The passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

	be	past participle
English	is	spoken	all over the world
The windows	have been	cleaned
Lunch	was being	served
The work	will be	finished	soon
They	might have been	invited	to the party

We can use phrasal verbs in the passive:

active		passive
They called off the meeting.	>>	The meeting was called off.
His grandmother looked after him.	>>	He was looked after by his grandmother.
They will send him away to school.	>>	He will be sent away to school.

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WHAT CAN THEY DO?

CAN / CAN'T

Shows ability or inability. Examples:

a. You can leave early today.

b. I can speak English.

c. Dogs can't fly.

d. Can cats swim? ✔Yes, they can.  ✖No, they can't.

POSITIVE STATEMENT				NEGATIVE STATEMENT
I	can	speak	English	I	can't	speak	English
He	can	run	very vest	You	can't	run	very fast
He	can	sit	in the garden	He	can't	sit	in the garden
She	can	come	with us	She	can't	come	with us
It	can	jump	to the other side	It	can't	jump	to the other side
We	can	make	delicious cakes	We	can't	make	delicious cakes
You	can	pass	the exam	You	can't	pass	the exam
They	can	draw	pictures	They	can't	draw	pictures

NOTE: Negative form of CAN is either “cannot” or “can not” and its negative contraction is “Can’t”. 

YES / NO QUESTIONS (POSITIVE)				SHORT ANSWER	LONG ANSWER
Can	I	kiss	you?	Yes, you can. No, you can't.	Yes, you can kiss me. No, you can't kiss me.
Can	you	speak	English?	Yes, I can. No, I can't.	Yes, I can speak English. No, I can't speak English.
Can	he James	come	to the cinema?	Yes, he can. No, he can't.	Yes, he can come to the cinema. No, he can't come to the cinema.
Can	she Jennifer	dance?		Yes, she can. No, she can't.	Yes, she can dance. No, she can't dance.
Can	it a bird	talk		Yes, it can. No, it can't.	Yes, it can talk. No, it can't talk.
Can	we	leave	now?	Yes, we/you can. No, we/you can't.	Yes, we/you can leave now. No, we/you can not leave now.
Can	you	wait	outside?	Yes, we can. No, we can't.	Yes, we can wait outside. No, we can't wait outside.
Can	they	sing	pop songs?	Yes, they can. No, they can't	Yes, they can sing pop songs. No, they cannot sing pop songs.

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WHAT'S THAT?

The words "this" and "that" are demonstrative adjectives (i.e. they demonstrate or indicate nouns.) They indicate not only a specific item or items but also where they are in relation to the speaker.

Additionally, Spanish has an extra demonstrative adjective to indicate items located physically even farther away from you. In other words, Spanish has an equivalent to "this" and to "that", but also has "this or that one over there."

Here are the Demonstrative Adjectives:

"This" and "These"	Singular	Plural
Masculine	este	estos
Feminine	esta	estas
"That" and "Those"	Singular	Plural
Masculine	ese	esos
Feminine	esa	esas
"That one over there" and "Those ones over there"	Singular	Plural
Masculine	aquel	aquellos
Feminine	aquella	aquellas

Este suéter ----------------->	This sweater
Estos suéteres---------------->	These sweaters
Ese suéter ---------------->	That sweater
Esos suéteres ---------------->	Those sweaters
Aquel suéter ---------------->	That sweater over there
Aquellos suéteres ---------------->	Those sweaters over there

Esta blusa ------------------>	This blouse
Estas blusas ----------------->	These blouses
Esa blusa ----------------->	That blouse
Esas blusas ----------------->	Those blouses
Aquella blusa ----------------->	That blouse over there
Aquellas blusas ----------------->	Those blouses over there

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